Flare Parachute No 14 11T.

[ron3350]

I saw this item in a shop and looked on the net for ID. The chute photo is taken from the net.
It has a parachute that screws onto a flare of some kind so an airforce item? Dated 1945.
I ask what flare it screws onto and how the flare is ignited. Any help/photos appreciated.

 

[ThomasP]

If the chute is less than Ø2 ft when deployed then I think this was used by the RAF on the US made 20 lb Fragmentation Bomb M41 series - effectively turning them into para-frags. It would originally have had a threaded adaptor for attaching to the tail of the bomb. The RAF usually used the M41 bombs thus modified in the No.23 and No.24 Cluster Projectiles. It is possible it might have been used on other similar types of bombs but I have no literature mentioning this.

It is possible that it was used on some type of flare but I have no literature mentioning this. The RAF reconnaissance flares usually used fairly large diameter parachutes of Ø8-11 ft to allow extended illumination times.

 

[ron3350]

The net says it is a 16 inch diameter parachute.

 

[ThomasP]

Then it is likely for the para-frag, where its use was to retard the bomb when dropped/ejected. Various parachutes diameters were used on the para-frags, depending on how quickly they wanted the bombs to decelerate. The much larger parachutes used on the flares were to increase 'hang time' thereby providing a more consistent illumination for photography or visual reconnaissance and bomb aiming.

A number of years ago I ran across a post that had a scanned document talking about the device above, but I did not download it as I was not interested in posting on the internet at the time. I do not remember which Mark of the device had what particular size of chute but there were at least 2 different sizes used, and IIRC with the smallest being Ø1 ft and the largest being Ø2 ft. I cannot say for sure what method was used to describe the diameter of the chutes in the document, but I think in the WWII era the British used the diameter of the chute when in use (aka the diameter of the opening when the chute is filled with air and the appropriate weight suspended beneath) - not when lying flat on the ground. Using this method, a chute of Ø16" when laid flat would approximately equal the Ø1 ft opening of a parabolic chute when in use.

There were different materials used as well, silk and cotton IIRC.

Trivia. A Ø1 ft parabolic chute would slow a 20 lb bomb to about 100 ft/sec steady fall rate near sea level, while a Ø2 ft parabolic chute would slow the bomb to about 55 ft/sec.